If you follow me on Twitter, you know that big things have been happening in my life. Rather, I have earned some big changes for myself. I just went AWOL from the grind and am starting my own company, and I am effervescent with excitement, pride and ambition. It’s definitely more than the fact that I haven’t been tan in two years, I swear.

I wore this outfit for a day at my home office, then out to a cozy dinner with le hubs. This Gap sweater has been in high rotation ever since I bought it, with its perfectly boyfriendy-but-chic shape.

Another big announcement: I finally made the leap to the beautiful world of DSLR photography and I’m not going back. I’m in love, I’m in love, and I don’t care who knows it.

I did a major closet inventory over the holiday and set aside the clothes I never wear. That left me with a very minimal wardrobe – which is 50% black, 25% white and much of the rest are pieces I’m not too wild about, feeble attempts at adding color. You could say I have pigeonholed my style, but I prefer the term ‘Parisian chic.’ While I do want to invest in more fun pieces (Blair Eadie of Atlantic-Pacific always inspires me), right now, being able to mix and match everything is practically perfect in every way. I can Mary Poppins together a polished outfit in ten seconds flat, and the remix capabilities are endless. Now I just need her never-ending bag of amazing outfits and décor.

This outfit was my solution for a day that started with pouring rain. The monochrome look is so fun, and I wanted to flip it from my typical all-black ensemble to something a little more holiday-inspired and trendy. It also made my shoes and handbag really pop – a guy walking by even complimented them!

How will you rock the monochrome trend? Maybe next time I’ll go all out and do neon pink.

Xo, Sarah

P.S. I tried a new setting with my digital camera instead of using my iPhone after reading this Blog Trends article on non-DSLR photography, and I love how the photos turned out a little bit Michael-Kors-editorial-meets-Juergen-Teller-lighting. I’m still experimenting with my photography – share your tips below, too!